75 Years of Progressive India

75 Years of Progressive India

-      Ambassador Anil Trigunayat

75 years of free India are replete with stupendous achievements. These become more remarkable because the country had to make a 'Tryst with Destiny' bringing out an exploited 1/6th of the humanity from the vagaries of the colonial yoke. Hence, the major challenges included socio-economic development and nation building through education and  industrial development, eradication of poverty, food self-sufficiency in a drought hit era with a divided nation by the colonial masters who were forced to lift their colonial shackles by the Gandhian non-violent movements. This was even more difficult as the world was divided into Cold War adversaries and bloc politics which India could not have subscribed to. Hence, India not only stood and helped in the emancipation of large number of colonized countries but also created a third way with a more equitable force in the form of NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) to serve national interest and cause of peace and development especially for the developing and underdeveloped world. It became a champion for the rights of oppressed people at the international fora while discharging its obligations as a responsible international actor and a voice of reason.

India, before the advent of the colonial powers, contributed to over a quarter of the global GDP that went down to less than 4% when they left with her industry decimated and administrative system which was geared to serve interests of the colonial masters. In the last over seven decades, India has engineered Green, Yellow and White Revolutions with continuous upgradation in technology in the agricultural and food processing areas not only to meet demand of a burgeoning...